Marana Lark Series Book Two: The Curse
by pirateprincezz10113
Summary: Marana's under a curse that may claim her life. A loved one must die to save her. Who will die for her?
1. A Dying Mother

**The Marana Lark Series: Book Two**

**The Curse**

You've got to read the first one before you read this one. Very dramatic. Rated for violence. It takes place a year after the first one.

**Introduction**

Marana Lark and Jack Sparrow were sailing to Port Royal. Marana's friend, Bella, had gotten married to her childhood friend, Jacob Smith, and had given birth to a baby girl. Marana and Jack had to go see her.

Jack and Marana arrived in Port Royal four weeks after the baby was born.

**Chapter One: A Dying Mother**

Marana and Jack stood on the threshold of the Smith house. Marana nervously knocked on the door. When it opened, she saw Jacob, looking tired. He gave her a one-armed hug before leading them inside.

Jacob led them up a flight of stairs and into a small bedroom. Bella was lying on the bed with her eyes screwed shut. Her beautiful tanned skin had gone pale, and her silky brown hair was stringy and wet. Marana looked at Jacob. "What happened?"

He responded, "She's very ill. She had trouble with the baby. The baby's fine, but she may be dying."

"No!" shouted Marana, hugging her friend again. Jacob tried to comfort her. "I spoke to a doctor yesterday, and he said to keep her as comfortable as possible." Marana knelt at the side of the bed and touched Bella's face. She grasped Bella's hand, I was warm. Bella was burning with fever. Jacob took Bella's other hand. Jack knelt next to Marana and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She asked Jacob, 'Are you sure there's nothing we can do for her?" Jacob nodded.

Marana stood up and said, "Jack, we should probably get back to the _Pearl. _Goodbye, Jacob." As they were about to leave, Jacob said, "We're coming with you. Bella loves the _Pearl._ Maybe she'll feel better. You carry her down to the ship. I'll be right back. I'll meet you there." Jack carried Bella down to the _Pearl. _When he got on, Marana brought her into one of the smaller cabins. She set her on the bed and wrapped her up in blankets. She went back out and saw Jacob approaching. "Weigh anchor!" shouted Jack. Jacob climbed on and said to Marana, "I left the baby with my mother. She'll take care of her. Don't worry, Marana. I'll take care of Bella."

The ship moved out of the harbor. Jack sat on the stairs, with Marana on his lap. They didn't talk at all. They were just thinking. Jack was thinking about Marana. Marana was thinking about how Bella was going to survive.

She decided to go see Bella. When she got to the cabin, Bella was awake and breathing. Marana hugged her and said, "I'm so glad you're awake! I thought you were going to die!" Bella's face was blank, and still pale. "I am going to die, Marana. I'm too weak. I have no strength left." Marana's eyes were swimming with tears, which dripped down her face and onto the cabin floor. She choked, "No, you can't die. You just can't die, Bella."

Bella's response was as blank as her face. "Yes, I can die, Marana Lark. I have served my purpose. I helped you rescue Jack. I got shot in the arm, and Jacob saved me. And then I gave birth to my daughter. I have done enough."

Marana cried into her friend's shoulder. Bella summoned the strength to hug her friend back. She gave Marana a gentle kiss on her cheek and let go. She fell back against the pillows. Jacob said, "She's not dead, yet. She's been delirious lately, if she's awake at all. All we can do is hope and pray. You and Bella are both very dear to me, Marana. Go get John and Jordan and Abigail. They'll want to say goodbye to her."

Marana left the cabin. She walked past Jack quickly, and with her head turned, so he wouldn't see her tears. She found the three newest additions to the crew and said, "Bella's sick. She's dying, and she wants you three to be there with her, to say goodbye." Abigail, John, and Jordan stopped what they were doing. Abby stared at her blankly. "Whatever do you mean? What are you talking about?" Marana explained to them how she and Jack had brought her onto the ship and how she was staying in one of the cabins, and how she had said that she was dying. As she choked out the last words, Abby hugged her. The four of them went back to see Bella. Marana couldn't bear to go back in there. She went back to the stairs and sat next to Jack. He asked, "What's wrong, Marana?"

She hugged him and cried into his shoulders. "Bella's going to die, Jack." He tried his best to comfort her. When she stopped crying, he stood up and kissed her forehead. "Marana, love, I know you are strong, and you can get through this. I know how much Bella meant to you. And I am grateful to her for helping you that night you got me out of prison. If she does die, I hope she's in no pain."

Marana suddenly loved Jack more than ever. "Thank you, Jack. Your words really mean a lot to me. If Bella does die, I will still love her as I always have, and I will keep her in my heart forever." She gave Jack a passionate kiss and whispered, "I love you."

Jack replied, "I love you, too." and kissed her back.


	2. A Visit from Davy Jones

**A Visit from Davy Jones**

Marana fell asleep in Jack's arms. He carried her into her cabin and put her in bed. He kissed her good night and shut the door. She slept deeply that night. When she woke up in the morning, she went into Bella's cabin. Noticing that Jacob was asleep, she quietly checked to see if Bella was still alive. Marana cautiously checked her heart. It was still beating. Marana relieved and went back into her cabin. She curled up in the blankets again. Then Jack came in. He sat next to her and kissed her cheek. "Did you sleep well, love?" he asked. Marana nodded and replied, "Yes, I did, and I checked on Bella. She's still alive." Jack breathed a sigh of relief.

Jack took Marana's hand and brought her outside. The Caribbean air was warm and refreshing. Marana's navy blue silk gown rippled in the breeze. The sun loomed overhead. She slipped her arm around Jack's waist and walked over to the railing. In the distance, a dolphin leaped out of the water. Marana wanted the world to be peaceful like this forever.

The peace was ruined. The water starting bubbling and Marana felt the ship shaking. She lost her balance. Jack caught her just as something burst up out of the water. It was a giant ship covered in seaweed, with water spilling off of it in every direction. The bow of the ship was shaped into a large mouth filled with teeth. The windows of the stern looked like a sea monster grinning evilly at them. Jack recognized the ship, but Marana did not. She looked at Jack in confusion. "That's the _Flying Dutchman._" Marana stood up and took Jack's spyglass. She glimpsed countless slimy, dirty creatures mingling around the decks. Each one was slimier and dirtier than the last. Then she saw the tallest and ugliest one of them. He had a lobster claw instead of a left arm, and his face, or what resembled his face, was hidden behind a beard of slimy tentacles. Marana didn't need to guess who he was.

She closed her eyes and hoped it was just a bad dream. When she opened them, Davy Jones was standing right in front of her. She screamed and backed off. Jack held her to his shaking body. He spoke as bravely as he could. "And what have you come for this time, Jones?"

The ruler of the sea, as Davy Jones is called, laughed and replied, "Jack Sparrow, I have come not for your soul, but hers." He pointed the barnacle-encrusted lobster claw at Marana. She clung to Jack and faced him. "Why my soul?" she dared to speak to him. He laughed again. "There is a curse that has fallen upon you. It will cause your soul to rot, and you will no longer be human. Instead you will be a demon inside yourself. You won't feel or love anymore. You will only hate." Marana was scared beyond imagination. "And…h-how can it be b-broken?" She clung tighter to Jack. Jones stepped closer, and Jack drew her farther away.

"There is only one way the curse can be broken: someone very dear to the cursed one must kill himself. The curse will be lifted and the cursed one will become human again. Or you can just die now and get it over with." Marana's eyes were brimming with tears. Jack spoke up, "What if no one is willing to die for her?"

Jones's careless response was, "Then she will die a horrible, painful death. You have two weeks to lift the curse. At the end of two weeks, if the curse is still not lifted, she will die."

Jones disappeared and the _Flying Dutchman _went back underwater. Marana and Jack stood in shock for a long time.


	3. The Effects of the Curse

**The Effects of the Curse**

During the next four days, Marana was acting like death warmed over. Her skin was completely pale, she spoke in a blank tone, and she never smiled. Jack was getting scared. He stayed away from her. On the second day, he discovered something else: she didn't sleep. She just walked around the docks all day, not eating, drinking, or sleeping, and barely talking.

Jack lay in his cabin all day, thinking about how to lift the curse. He wanted to have his dear Marana back to her normal, loving self, but he didn't want to kill himself. Then he wouldn't be able to see her again, she would be heartbroken, and his crew wouldn't have a captain. He thought of Bella, who was dying. If she died, the curse would be lifted, since she was one of Marana's best friends. But that sounded cruel to Jack. He didn't know who else would die for her. He would die for her if he absolutely had to, but there had to be some other solution. He was running out of time. He loved Marana, but he didn't know if he _could _kill himself.

Meanwhile, Marana was sitting up in the rigging. She stared out at the ocean. Her eyes had turned from baby blue to gray. Nothing could make her happy. Unless the curse was lifted in less than ten days, she would stay like this until she eventually died. She just stayed up there and thought about what it would be like to die.

Bella sat in her cabin, holding Jacob's hand. "Is it true that the curse will make Marana die?"

"Yes," said Jacob.

"And is it also true that the curse can be lifted by someone dying for her?"

"Yes," Jacob said again.

Bella thought of her beautiful friend. She loved Marana like a sister. Bella was going to die anyway. She said to her husband, "Jacob, you know I'm going to die."

"Yes…" Jacob was cautious.

"And you know that someone has to die to lift Marana's curse." Bella pressed on.

"Bella, I don't like where this is going." Jacob squeezed her hand.

Bella looked up at the ceiling. "I'm going to give my life for Marana, Jacob."

Jacob was shocked. He felt like his heart had been ripped out of his chest. "No, Bella! No, you can't do that!" he tried to hold back the tears in his chocolate brown eyes, but they spilled out. He didn't want to lose his wife.

Bella touched his face. "Jacob, I can choose what to do with my life. I'm going to sacrifice it to save my best friend." She sat up and hugged her husband as he cried. Jacob hugged his wife for what might be the last time.


	4. The Curse is Lifted

**The Curse is Lifted**

It was the 13th morning. Marana was getting extremely close to dying. She was sheet-white, and she struggled for breath. Jack couldn't do anything to help her. He couldn't bear to look at her. He still loved her, but he was about to lose her forever.

Bella was getting close to death, too. She, too, had trouble breathing. She couldn't stand, and she slept all the time. She had made her final decision: she would kill herself to save her best friend.

On the 14th morning, Anna was almost dead. She was completely unconscious. Her beautiful hair was stringy. Jack carried her out onto the stairs. He whispered, "Marana, when you die, all I ask is that you remember I love you." He kissed her frozen lips one last time.

The _Flying Dutchman _burst out of the sea. Davy Jones materialized in front of them. He laughed deeply. "Time's up. I see the curse has not been lifted yet." Marana woke up somehow. She stood in front of Jones. "I'm ready."

A hole tore the center of Marana's forehead. Something that resembled blue steam was leaking out. It was Marana's soul. It came out in snakes and curls and circles. Then it turned black. That was her memories. Marana fell back. Jack caught her and held her up. She was groaning in pain. Bella had seen all of it. She triumphantly stood next to Marana and said bravely, "I'm ready to give my life for her." Jones laughed again and yelled, "It's too late!" He punched her, and she fell onto the deck. She stood up and yanked a dagger out from the pocket of her dress. She held it close to her heart.

Jones looked away from Marana and at her. Bella raised the dagger. "I've been waiting for this moment. I'm going to save my friend's life." She said no more.

Bella took her last breath. "Goodbye, Marana." She drove the dagger deep into her heart. Her blood leaked all over her dress and onto the deck. Her body thudded down. She was dead. Her blood was still leaking out. The dagger lay beside her. All of the Marana's memories, and her soul, went back into her head, and the hole closed up. The color slowly flooded back into her skin, and her hair was a lustrous brown again. She embraced Jack, and they gave each other a deep, passionate kiss. Jones disappeared, and the _Dutchman _went back underwater. The curse had been lifted. Marana was free.

Marana looked over at Bella. "I am going to mourn my friend's death. She gave her life for me, and she did it bravely. I will always love and respect her." Then she turned to Jack. "I love you so much, Jack Sparrow!" She hugged him as hard as she could and kissed his face several times.

Jack gazed at her lovingly with tears in his eyes. "Marana, I just want you to know, even when the curse was upon you, I loved you as much as ever. And I still love you, as much as my pirate heart can muster." They kissed again.

Marana now had two people to thank: Bella, for giving her life to save her friend's; and Jack, for loving her through the toughest days of her life.


End file.
